ON YOUR MARK: WEEK 6 DAY 3

Mark 6:14-20

The Death of John the Baptist

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist  has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her.18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

Herod the Great was known for his expansive building projects and had introduced foreign forms of entertainment to Jerusalem. Not Jewish himself, the puppet king teetered back and forth between sometimes honoring the pious Jews around him, and other times seeking the approval of Rome. The Herod we read about here was his son. It is evident from the Gospel accounts that this Herod Antipas was enslaved by entertainment. Here we read that he liked to listen to John the Baptist.  Later in the Gospels we find out that the night before Jesus’ execution, Herod was eager to get to see Him, because of all he’d heard about Him. When Jesus was silent and didn’t “entertain” Herod, he dismissed Him and joined with the others in mocking. It seems in all the accounts that there was something that drew Herod to both John the Baptist and Jesus, but he was never changed. He enjoyed having his ears tickled, but not his heart transformed. 

Today we live in a culture enslaved to entertainment. Be very careful that you do not just enjoy being entertained by a good teaching or worship music as that can prevent the Word of God from entering into your life and changing you. Living a faith filled life that contains both action and relationship with your Heavenly Father is our calling, not simply being entertained and going about life as usual.